Microsoft Chicago: The Road Ahead

The entrance to the new Microsoft data center in Northlake, Ill.

Microsoft has completed the first phase of its Chicago data center, which can accommodate as many as 56 data center containers. When additional capacity is needed, a second phase that can hold an additional 56 containers will be brought online. The facility also has four 12,000-square-foot server rooms on its upper level that use a traditional raised design with a hot and cold aisle.

That’s a lot of capacity, aligned with Microsoft’s great expenctations for its cloud computing operations. “Today’s opening is the next evolutionary step in building out our cloud computing infrastructure,” said Arne Josefsberg, General Manager of Infrastructure for Microsoft Global Foundation Services.

Want to see even more? Microsoft has posted a video of one of the containers being installed in the Chicago facility (a process we described in our coverage yesterday). You’ll need to have Microsoft’s Silverlight installed to view the video.

NAVIGATION

• Inside Microsoft’s Chicago Data Center
• Center-Aisle Container
• Side-Aisle Container
• Power and Cooling Infrastructure
• Microsoft Chicago: The Road Ahead